LSI Intros Engenio iSCSI Interface

MILPITAS, Calif. -- LSI Corporation (NYSE: LSI - News) today announced iSCSI connectivity support across its complete line of Engenio(TM) external storage systems. LSI is introducing its Simplicity(TM) iSCSI-based 1532 storage system for SMB (small-to-midsized business) customers in need of simple and low-cost networked storage. In addition, LSI has certified select SANtricity(TM) Fibre Channel-based storage systems with the QLogic SANbox 6140 Intelligent Storage Router, providing enterprise customers with multi-protocol connectivity between servers and SANtricity storage systems. Today's announcement further expands the industry-leading selection of interface options offered by LSI, which now includes iSCSI, SAS, Fibre Channel and InfiniBand.

"IP networks are ubiquitous in the industry, and more and more customers are looking to leverage this familiar technology for a low-cost storage network that increases efficiencies while offering easy integration; iSCSI makes this possible," said Steve Gardner, director of product marketing, Engenio Storage Group, LSI Corporation. "LSI is delivering iSCSI support across our Engenio family of storage systems in order to provide both SMB and enterprise customers with an easily-managed IP storage network that brings the consolidation benefits of a shared environment. This is the latest step in our continued effort to offer the industry's most extensive selection of host interfaces to meet any organization's storage requirements regardless of connectivity performance, availability or functionality requirements."

The 1532, with iSCSI host interface technology, is the newest addition to the LSI family of Simplicity systems, which already offer SAS and Fibre Channel interface options with the 1333 and 1932, respectively. The 1532 storage system is designed as an easy-to-use IP SAN (storage area network over an IP network) solution for SMB customers looking for an alternative to a Fibre Channel SAN as they transition from a DAS (Direct Attached Storage) environment. The 1532 enables IT organizations to leverage their IP expertise while cost-effectively gaining the advantages of consolidated storage. The 1532 storage system is ideal for applications including relational databases, Exchange, SQL Server, CRM, ERP, web, e-commerce or supporting server consolidation with products like VMware.

Designed with four 1Gb/s iSCSI hosts per dual controller system, the 1532 supports "start small, grow big" scalability allowing users to only invest in the amount of storage currently needed and dynamically scale capacity when their storage demands call for it. Entry-level systems begin with a 2U 12-drive configuration, which can scale up to 48 300GB SAS and SATA drives, offering up to 36.0TB of storage. The 1532 system is managed by Simplicity Storage Manager software providing customers an intuitive, task-based management structure that significantly reduces the complexity of installation, configuration, management and diagnostic tasks. Simplicity delivers premium features to support data utilization and protection strategies, including storage partitioning, snapshot and volume copy.

Bringing together the advantages of Fibre Channel storage and the pervasiveness of IP networks, LSI has also completed certification of its SANtricity-managed Fibre Channel arrays with the QLogic SANbox 6140 Intelligent Storage Router. By testing and certifying this router, select SANtricity storage systems can be bridged across an IP network, enabling enterprise customers to have multi-protocol connectivity between servers and the SANtricity storage systems. It is also an ideal solution for enabling a virtualized server-to-storage interface that allows the deployment of hundreds of virtual or physical servers to a SANtricity system, which provides the additional benefit of consolidated storage."The certification of the LSI Engenio storage systems with the QLogic iSCSI Intelligent Storage Routers enables users to combine the availability and consolidation advantages of the SANtricity-based Fibre Channel systems across IP networks for data transfers," said Shishir Shah, general manager, Storage Solutions Group, QLogic Corporation. "The result is a cost-effective method to connect all of an organization's servers to a SAN regardless of location."

LSI Corp.